What do other cities do well?
The City of Wichita launched an ideation hub to discuss “What Other Cities Do Well."
Although Wichita is nearly the center of the USA, it is not the center of the universe and we have plenty to learn from other cities.
The City of Wichita does want to do better and would love your feedback so drop your ideas about features, initiatives, events, or anything you’ve admired and believe could enhance our community.
Dive in, share your insights, vote for inspiring ideas, or engage in hearty (and let’s be nice, kids) discussions on how we can borrow brilliance from around the globe and implement it right here in the 316.
To help get your creative juices flowing, let’s look at the most popular ideas currently on the idea board.
We covered the top 5 most popular ideas in our last edition which included:
- Activating the river
- Invest in a Light Rail Transit System
- More Green Space
- Maintain what we’ve already got
- Fruit Trees
Here are the next 5 most popular ideas:
1. History Trails
“Create history trails that link parts of the city to each other . Connect with green spaces, parks, etc."
Despite what you may have thought, Wichita actually does have some trails around town with a few notable ones you may have heard of:
- Redbud Trail, Sedgwick County Zoo / Park Path, Arkansas River Bike Path
The twist on this is best summed up from one of the comments on the forum:
"I really like this because after going to cowtown and learning about the city, and how Douglas used to be Chisholm trail, it really helped the rich history of Wichita come alive! Now, there simply isn't enough info for the average person to realize this though! Developing this could definitely add to tourism, and boosting the attention of cowtown and historic Douglas and Delano!"
It would be very cool to walk through historic Delano or Douglas with prompts to learn more via signs, QR codes for digital access, maybe tour guides?
Some examples in other cities include Boston's Freedom Trail which is a 2.5 mile trail that passes 16 historic sites like the location of the Boston Massacre, Paul Revere's House and more.
Wichita's "History Trail" could include a walk through Delano (originally a separate Cowtown, Carry Nation Speak easy, original Dockum sit-in, etc.
2. Create a gatepass to every city owned venue in Wichita
“Create an annual gate pass for the Zoo, Botanica, Cowtown, the Art Museum, the Library, Exploration Place, Mid American Indian Center, Everything including free parking, on one card.”
Love this idea. Exploration Place offers something kind of like this for other museums / attractions called a Reciprocal membership through the ASTC Travel Passport Program. You just have to download the Exploration Place app, login with your membership login and get to exploring. Other Kansas locations include: Cosmosphere, Flint Hills Discovery Center, and a couple of others.
I like the Wichita gatepass idea. Similar to the "Sunflower Summer" app from Kansas Tourism, but year-round.
From the forum, u/wichitared had a great comment which could inspire The City or Visit Wichita:
"When I visited Deadwood, I discovered they offered visitor passes for their venues, which I thought was fantastic. You could purchase these passes at any venue and choose from different levels, such as 3 places, 5 places, and so on. This system encouraged us to visit an establishment we might have otherwise skipped. It was also wonderful to see each location promoting both touring their city and not competing but assisting one another."
3. Car-free streets
“What if we had Open Streets events more frequently or even just designated certain streets as year round "car-free" zones or low emission zones? Being able to walk around and enjoy Old Town safely?”
Open Streets ICT might be one of my favorite events of the year. Once a year, the city shuts down a long stretch of Douglas and people can shop, ride, walk, and hang out all down a street with no cars.
This has now expanded to other areas of Wichita like Nomar and Wichita State.
The next one is coming up October 13th from 12 to 5 btw.
I also love the idea of having ares that do this all the time.
There are many exotic examples like Belgium, Kenya, and Switzerland. There is also a whole movement around car free megacities.
If the city of Love (Paris) can do it, so we can we.
Many of the comments on the forum mention the lack of public transport (we have the Q line!) and the fact that many people have to drive into Wichita to even partake in any of these areas.
I think there is likely a middle ground where we close one street, but adjacent streets are still open for driving, parking, etc.
4. Riverfront Path improvement
“Widen the riverfront path and separate foot traffic from other traffic. The current path is becoming increasingly dangerous for pedestrian due to the increased use of motor vehicles on the path.”
Tulsa has a great example of what this could look like. They even sit along the same Arkansas River that we do! What are the odds?!
Another issue I've heard from multiple people is stated by u/cb_larson:
"Why are we allowing motorized vehicles on pedestrian walking trails. This extremely dangerous. Top speed for bicycles should be 5 mph. This not a street or race track. Yes we need to widen paths to allow for greater use an separation."
5. Homeless Multi-Agency Center
“Replicate ‘Bonton Farms’ to end the funding war with regard to innovating a homeless MAC. Over time it’s self sustaining and won’t rely on cash injection from the city. https://bontonfarms.org/”
I won't do Bonton Farms justice, so you should go read it for yourself, but this is an awesome idea.
Essentially what started out as a garden has gronw into a full on farm, multiple markets, cafes, and shops.
Now it has changed the city of Bonton for the better.
Bonus: Graffiti Park
“Building a graffiti Park where it is safe and legal to tag. Giving artists a place for temporary public art."
A little birdy told me that over near Intrust Bank Arena there's a place where artists are "allowed" to paint. It's one of those unspoken places.
The PD is cool with it since the owners are.
We are working with the City of Wichita to help collect your ideas and (hopefully) bring some into reality.
Do you have any great ideas to submit? What have you seen work well in other cities?